Amazon Fire TV stick for $24.99 (Best Buy)

[Kaido]

Compare to $39 at Amazon:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/amazon-f...tick/9999119.p

Fire TV Stick in a nutshell:

* Streaming video stick (Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc.)
* Wifi only
* HDMI only (short extension cable included)
* USB cable & A/C adapter included (wall power recommended)
* Includes basic remote
* Voice-enabled remote (via mic) available for $30 (or just use the smartphone app)
* Over 200 games supported
* Wireless gamepads supported, such as the $40 Fire Game Controller (and other third-party models)
* Sideloading supported (ex. XBMC)

Issues reported:

* Laggy GUI
* Slow video load times (ex. buffering)
* PLEX is stereo only (no Dolby/AC3)
* Occasional crashing (even after the long initial software update)

My only real gripe is lack of VUDU support, which is a video streaming service I use for UltraViolet movies (the codes you get with physical DVD/Bluray movies). Other than that, for $25, it's a steal! Great basic movie-watching player for cheap.

 

[Kaido]

Oh, and there's a discussion thread here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2405745

cronos has some great info about sideloading XBMC in this post:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=36927512&postcount=76

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

this is also available at staples for $24. bb just happens to be more convenient for me so I paid the extra $1. I got in on the $19 deal at amazon but ship date is something like dec 30th.

 

[Kaido]

this is also available at staples for $24. bb just happens to be more convenient for me so I paid the extra $1. I got in on the $19 deal at amazon but ship date is something like dec 30th.

I was thinking about posting that, but it was showing OOS for me earlier online at Staples.com:

http://www.staples.com/Amazon-Fire-TV-Stick/product_1434022

I got the $19 Amazon deal as well...I like it so far, anxious to throw some third-party stuff on via sideloading!

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

picked mine up from bb yesterday. installation is pretty easy. same as chromecast. the remote feels very very cheap and fragile. definitely would be good for my parents though. they don't have a smart phone and i don't think remember how to cast from a tablet/laptop.

didn't test out the voice features but the gui felt pretty smooth. i did get some delays once in a while but I think it's from my spotty wireless network. amazon streaming was another buying point for me and it worked well. i wish vikings wasn't in SD though.

Definitely worth the $25.